In the workplace, managers are expected to think and act in a way that does not exclude anyone.

Developing a better team
Diversity if often talked about, but understood little. Much like the words prejudice, racism, all-inclusive and non-judgemental, many people will use these phrases but have little appreciation, if any, of what they really mean. This is certainly true in the workplace where managers are expected to think and act in a way that does not exclude anyone.

The intention may be to be inclusive but sometimes, our own actions and behaviours can be the very things that prevent inclusivity. With courses to help manage diversity in the workplace available from NCC Home Learning understanding the concept and putting it into practice becomes easier.

 

What is diversity?
It a concept that encompasses acceptance and respect. It is an understanding that every single person on your team is unique, with differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs and other ideas and opinions.

By accepting and welcoming these diversities, people feel safe and nurtured in an environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond what some people see as simply tolerating someone, to actively embracing and celebrating these differences.

Why bother with diversity?
The way in which we run a business and trade with customers has changed enormously over the last decade or more. Online trading has meant that businesses are finding new markets and new trade partners in countries and places that before where just a name on a map.

As a result, businesses and their employees are coming across all kinds of cultures and peoples, traditions and routines that they may not have encountered before.

And people are travelling more too. At one time, the likelihood of someone leaving their town or city was low but today, with modern travel links, nowhere is inaccessible.

All this means that there is a fabulous mix of cultures and people. Managing and embracing this diversity has not always been an easy journey, for society, business or people.

Traditions are common and more firmly entrenched in a business setting than we would like to believe. There is a belief too that those people who are ‘different’ should be the ones to mould to fit in with the team because, as the saying goes, ‘that is the way that things have always been done’.

Business managers are, however, learning that this is not inclusive and neither is it accepting of the diversity present in a team. If people don’t feel safe, valued and comfortable, they will not contribute to the best of their ability.

It has taken some time to realise that the losers in this is the business or company themselves. Why allow a situation to continue where the business is not benefitting from the people that it employs?

The benefits of embracing diversity

  • Innovation – one of the most positive effects of diversity on a workplace is the boost that it provides in terms of innovation. There is an air of people learning from each other, with employees becoming more receptive to new ideas and innovations.
  • Reduce staff turnover – when diversity is not welcomed, it leads to conflict. In turn, this can lead to increase of staff turnover which will have an effect on the business with the constant need to retrain. Reputation can be damaged too.
  • Attracting the best talent – the most important asset of any business is the people. By embracing and encouraging diversity, a business is effectively welcoming top talent to its core.
  • Adaptability – when you have a mix of people, talent and culture you have a responsive team, a group of people that understanding how others function or may need to do business.

Managing diversity
However, diversity is not just about having a policy, there needs to be actions too, such as:

  • Making a conscious effort and taking steps to welcome applications from all sectors of society, and being conscious of this in work practices and ethics
  • Managers will need to be trained to understand their own backgrounds and opinions better, as well as boosting knowledge
  • The process of hiring staff needs to be accessible and all-inclusive too
  • Having policies and procedures in place but also a robust feedback mechanism so that these can be improved over time
  • Diversity training within the work place so that all employees have the opportunity to examine work ethics and practice.

Diversity courses from NCC Home Learning
For anyone looking to manage people in any business setting, understanding, welcoming and embracing diversity is essential. Managing it in the workplace is important too, including those employees or staff members who may be critical of some changes in practice and so on.

There are courses to help manage diversity in the workplace available from NCC Home Learning – enrol today!

Research suggests that within a few weeks, the New Year resolutions have fallen by the wayside, all but forgotten.

 

Why New Year’s Resolutions Do Not Work – But Can with NLP!
New Year is a perfect time, or so you would think, to make those all important changes in your life. From stopping smoking to being more active, New Year resolutions are made by many people.

But, they don’t last. Research suggest that within a few weeks, the resolutions have fallen by the wayside, all but forgotten.

 

The reasons why resolutions don’t work

Resolutions are about making a change. Breaking one routine and attempting to replace it with an-other may, on the surface, seem like an easy thing to do.

And yet, as soon as the first hurdle or obstacle looms, the resolution fades away and here are five common reasons why:

#1 Emotional investment is lacking
We all know we should eat healthier/eat less/exercise more/not be as stressed and so on but un-less you feel the desire deep down inside of you to make a change, it can seem like an uphill battle right from the start.

#2 Unwillingness to raise standards
Everyone has different standards and desires when it comes to certain facets of life. Someone who gets up at 5 am for a morning run has a high dedication than someone who does no exercise at all. Making a change or sticking to a resolution may mean upping your dedication to a cause.

#3 Hedging your bets
It is a common phrase and this means holding on to something, ‘just in case’. For example, quitting smoking is a common New Year’s resolution but you don’t throw ashtrays away, just in case. If you decide to make a change, burn your boats, get rid of stuff and you will find a way to make it hap-pen.

#4 Lacking in internal motivation
Frankly, if your mo-jo to make a change is not in place, it ain’t gonna happen. To make a change and follow through with it, you need to have a strong emotional desire.

#5 You don’t believe you can change
What is often lacking is the self-belief that change is possible. This can be a negative cycle that many people are caught in. As soon as something happens that potentially thwarts the ‘new you’, you slip back into old ways.

How can NLP help?

There is help at hand with NLP courses which can be instrumental in helping people to make per-sonal and professional changes. NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a behavioural modification technique that came to prominence in the 1970s. Used by psychiatrists, psychologists, managers, counsellors and so on, NLP is a popular tool in the workplace. It is also used by many people in their personal lives and relationships too.

Essentially, it is a tool to initiate and motivate personal and positive changes. It focuses on the con-nection between mind and language, assessing how this connection affects both the body and be-haviour.

Over the years, there have been all kinds of claims, studies and research projects that have linked NLP with successful person changes including weight loss, reducing anxiety, negative moods and so on.

It has also been used in the sphere of learning as well as by many managers and supervisors in the workplace. The impact of making a positive change in anyone’s life is not to be underestimated.

NLP as a vocational skill

Understanding NLP in depth and how it can be applied in the workplace can open up many oppor-tunities for employees, as well as having a beneficial effect on productivity. Like New Year resolutions, changes in the workplace can be stressful and have a negative impact on employees and their morale.

For managers and supervisors, a grounding in NLP techniques can make a positive impact on how a team is managed but, finding the time to study for an NLP qualification can be tough.
Learning online through a home learning provider is one solution for gaining an NLP qualification:

NLP can make a big difference to your personal life but in your workplace too. Take a closer look.

Concerns over the future of our planet are now more prominent than ever, with conservation being the objective of many worldwide organisations. The role of an environmental scientist is diverse and can cover a multitude of subjects from natural land resources to forestry and sustainability. Environmental science is defined by biology online as, “the branch of science that deals with the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment and their effects on organisms.”

We have taken a look at some of the more everyday issues that may indirectly affect the way in which you live your life and the interesting ways in which environmental scientists work to ensure the future prosperity of our beautiful planet.

Conservation and Environment Analysis

Land Resources

The management and conservation of habitats is crucial to the sustainability of manageable living conditions. Environmental scientist work tirelessly assessing current habitats and researching into effective ways to maintain the habitats. Intervention programmes are also compiled by skilled environmental scientists and have been implemented on sites across the globe, from the Amazon Rainforest to The Great Barrier Reef. The value of areas such as this are not just held in aesthetics, but in the role they play in maintaining a healthy and diverse environment.

Pollution

Pollution has become a crippling problem all over the world, with treaties now in place between some of the world’s biggest nations to implement strict rules regarding the reduction of greenhouse gasses in their respective countries. Environmental science has had a huge impact on the way in which people view the atmosphere and how our actions impact climate change and inevitably the way in which we live. Pollution control remains a priority for environmental science departments and discovering new ways to power the modern world without having such a negative effect on our atmosphere.

Forestry and Sustainability

Environmental change and the constant demand for economic expansion has led to the deforestation of large areas of rainforest. Managing forests as a vital resource is an incredibly important role for an environmental scientist to take. Looking at the impacts on indigenous species and incorporating the safety of their preservation while also dealing with political agendas can be extremely challenging.

Environmental scientists in many ways are modern day superheroes and the work they do will have some impact on everyone. If you would like to learn more about this subject, NCC offer an Environmental Science Diploma.

This year’s World Mental Health Day will take place on 10th October 2012 and will be celebrated around the world.

The day was created by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise public awareness of mental health issues.

This year’s theme is “Depression: A Global Crisis”.  World Mental Health Day aims to get us all talking openly about mental illnesses and the treatment and preventions that are available to us all.

It’s thought that around 154 million people around the world suffer from depression, so it’s likely that you or someone you know will be affected by mental illness during your lifetime.

If you would like to learn more about Mental Health Awareness, NCC Home Learning offer a selection of related distance learning courses that can be completed from the comfort of your own home:

Mental Health
Mental Health and Social Care
Positive Dementia Care

For further information on any of these home study courses call us on 0800 970 2522 or email [email protected].

Some people with a mental health problem are having to wait up to three years to talk to a counsellor, depending on where they live.

Mental health charity Mind says three quarters of sufferers first start to get problems when they’re under 25.

Ten leading doctors groups and charities have joined the campaign to get rid of the “postcode lottery”.

They want everyone to be able to get the right sort of counselling they need within 28 days of asking.

Colin Walker says there has never been a greater demand for talking therapies, as there are so many people struggling after the economic recession.

Whether you are already working this area, are considering this as a career or simply want to learn more about what is a very prominent issue, NCC Home Learning have a great selection of Human Understanding courses:

– Counselling Diploma
– Life Coaching Diploma
– Mental Health Courses

To read the above article in full please click the following link: BBC News

The annual cost of mental ill health in England has soared from £28bn to £105.2bn, according to new research by the Centre for Mental Health.

The economy loses more than £30bn a year from sickness absence and unemployment caused by mental ill health while treating mental health problems costs the NHS and social care over £21bn a year.

However research has shown that most the financial burden falls on patients and families with the total cost reaching £53.6 billion.

Centre for Mental Health joint chief executive Bob Grove said: “Mental ill health carries a heavy cost, especially for those who experience mental health problems and their families.”
“Mental ill health is a fact of life. Every day, one in six of us experiences mental ill health, while one in 100 has a severe mental illness.”

Especially at this time of financial difficulty there is an even greater need for mental health care, particularly in terms of prevention.

NCC Home Learning offer a range of mental health courses online.  If you have a specific interest in this area or wish to develop in a care related job role, take a look at the below courses.

 

Mental Health VRQ•

 

Abnormal Psychology Diploma

Managing Stress

We also offer fascinating Diplomas in the area of Life Coaching and Counselling!

To read this article in full please click the following link: Guardian